Omar al-Ubaydli, an affiliated senior research fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, pointed out that Saudi Arabia and Iran have cut off diplomatic ties with each other, and Russia is engaged in a proxy war in Syria against other OPEC members.

“The idea of cutting production is never going to work in the near future,” he told IBD. “In order for a cut to work, you need to be able to effectively monitor each other.”

Al-Ubaydli sees a drop in production from global oil markets over the next 12 months, as output from older oil fields decreases and new investment slows.

“Output will decrease, but not because cartel members are sitting at a table playing with numbers,” he said. Continue